Lark's End

by Christina Leigh Pritchard

  “Hurry up, the lights shall dim soon. I hate walking around in the dark.”

  “The stars will keep things lit if we ask them.”

  “Ah, so you’ve met Tahmi’s first creation?”

  “Her what?”

  “Forgive me, I’ve gotten ahead of myself.”

  “Dude, you can’t end the convo like that. That’s messed up.” Andy chased after the man. “Wait up, what did you mean by her first creation?”

  HAMMER MOUNT

  Teri flipped her hair and tied it in a messy bun. She cringed. Her body reeked. “I’ll be back soon.” Lolani knelt and Teri jumped onto the Raven. “Let’s go!”

  They darted through the sky. “Wait, Lolani.” Teri rubbed her eyes. Why was her vision blurred? Was she sleepy? No, just cold. “Go down to the border.”

  The raven barreled, dropping onto the border fence. She perched and Teri climbed down. She balanced along the fence in her bare feet. Isn’t this what Tahmi does on that little fence back home on Earth?

  “Excuse me, Gaddy trash.” An octaloon wacked Teri with his tentacle. “Out of my way.”

  Teri stumbled, splashing into muddy water. Wait. Where was the mud? She couldn’t believe her eyes. Where were the muddlers? What about all the dead trees and that stinky mud?

  “What’s going on?”

  Idris and Carnevole tugged a raft holding a decaying mushroom top. They struggled, dragging it over the border. “The water is drying up fast by the flooded flowers, so hurry, Carnevole,” Idris said. “Our babies need to be submersed.”

  Carnevole growled, snapping at his wife.

  “Stop being a grump.” She ignored him, splashing water on the mushroom top. “I hope there’s enough clean water for us.”

  “Hey!” Teri shouted, “What’s going on?”

  Idris frowned. “Look, Carnevole, a piece of trash is on our fence.”

  The steel narrowed his eyes, ready to attack.

  Teri stepped backwards.

  “Hey! Watch where you’re walking.” Emlyn and Kalidas clapped their claws. “Sheesh, what a nightmare today has been.”

  “What in the world?”

  “We’re snaps,” Emlyn said. “And we may be small now but once we’re back in our old home we’ll triple in size.”

  “Yeah,” Kalidas nodded his jellyfish head. “We’ll show you Gaddy scum then!”

  “Hey, now wait one minute,” Teri said. A long tail flipped her upside down. “What’s the meaning of this?”

  Carnevole growled, tightening his grip.

  “Darling, leave the stupid child alone. We have our own offspring to worry about right now.” Idris motioned to the mushroom top. “They’re drying out.”

  He dropped the raven princess in the water. Her body hit small rocks. Gups scurried about and a seahorse swam above her. Teri could see the water level dropping. It was as if someone pulled the plug in her bath. Where was the water draining to? It had to go somewhere, right?

  Gups leaped over the border and into the muddler’s lair. What was happening?

  “Check it out!” Amberlyn pointed. She stood next to her mom. “It’s another princess. Can I touch her?”

  “No.” Shasa grabbed her daughter around the waist. “That’s definitely one half-bred you can’t associate with.”

  “But, mom, that’s the nice twin.” Amberlyn reached for Teri.

  “What makes you so sure?”

  “I can see it in her eyes.”

  “I am the good one!” Teri stammered. “I’ve never hurt any of you!”

  Spitos spun in circles, unable to reach the other side.

  Teri bent down. They squirted her with oil. “I can emit the same substance, so calm down.” They obeyed letting her toss them across. Blowgels lined the fence. She wasn’t touching those things.

  More aqualoons climbed the border. They disappeared into the crisp blue waters. The mud disappeared quickly. Her heart pounded. Tahmi. She was still in the lair. Would she be affected by the transformation? Her plan required the muddy conditions for survival.

  Teri bent down and grabbed the licorice rope that intertwined with the fence. “They don’t need this anymore.” She jerked, unraveling the border.

  Aqualoons cheered, swimming straight into their old home. “Thanks, Gaddy.” What was a gaddy?

  “Lolani, we need to hurry.” Teri’s eyes froze. Hammerloons jumped, arching their backs. Some belly flopped. “Look at the mountains over there.” She pointed. They were freezing. “The climate is changing.”

  Suddenly, a chill ran down Teri’s back. She needed to get back to Tahmi fast before everything changed and Jerry was lost forever.

  JERRY

  Jerry sat on a rock with his hands pressed against his cheeks. He’d spent the last two hours searching for an exit. Where was he? It was as if he were cocooned in a rock. He watched the flowing water, wondering where it came from. The waterfall fell from nothing and into a pond of mist. Aqualoons swam in circles searching for a way out. He watched them knock into walls as if they were in a glass aquarium.

  How long had the inhabitats been here? No one spoke to him but he could guess by their unkempt appearance that they’d been imprisoned many years. There were various loonies, aqualoons, war pigs and even a whole city filled with humans. These people knew the war pigs and seemed to coexist nicely. Besides Andy and his uncle Jon Landers, Jerry didn’t know any humans who weren’t transformed into animals.

  “I remember you.” A war pig sat next to Jerry. Her horned back hunched forward and she copied his posture. “We tried to kill you out in the goo.”

  Jerry jumped back. “What are you doing down here?”

  “My sister and I had a fight, and well, she won—obviously.”

  “Are you going to try to kill me?”

  “No, sorry about that—the voices are strong in the war pig forest where I live.”

  “Voices?”

  “Yes, someone tells us what to do all the time. I can’t hear her down here, though, which is really nice.”

  “It’s probably Mary.”

  “No, it’s not. I know Mary’s voice. I was in her army and served with her when she was good and when she was bad.”

  “I dunno what to say.”

  “It’s okay,” the war pig sighed. “I just came over to apologize for what my friends and I did to you the other day. It’s not right even if that voice did tell us to do it. We should’ve fought against it.”

  “Why don’t you?” Jerry sat. “I’d never let anyone control my thoughts.”

  “And yet you’re here in the mistlands.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You’re on an obligated mission.” The war pig offered her puss-filled hand.

  “Um,” Jerry sucked in a large breath. “Whenever I touch your kind—”

  “Yes, sorry, I understand my acidic mucus is dangerous. I forget sometimes.”

  “My name’s Jerry.”

  “I’m Sable.”

  “What mission are you referring to?”

  Sable pointed to a boulder in the center of the mist. Aqualoons avoided it and several loonies and humans swam through the mist to reach its center. Once they crawled onto the stone, they fell to their knees and sobbed.

  “What’s that, Sable?”

  “The truth.”

  “The what?”

  “The very core of our existence is revealed when we step onto that boulder.”

  Jerry smirked. “That’s ridiculous. It’s not possible to know everything about ourselves by setting foot on a rock.”

  “You misunderstand.” Sable closed her eyes. “The world in which we live has no substance. We’re running on the elements belonging to a physical planet in one of their many dimensions.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “Do you feel the wind that brushes against us?”

  Jerry nodded. “Yeah, what about it?”

  “Can you see it?”

  “No.”

  �
�But it’s in the same space as us. The wind can rustle the trees and send chills through us. We breathe the wind in and then create a new substance called carbon—something, anyway, that helps our vegetation grow.”

  “What’s this have to do with dimensions?”

  “Everything.” Sable stood. “You and I are a physical dimension and the wind is a non-matter dimension. We share the same space but are made up differently.”

  “Okay.” Jerry pulled his legs close. “What does that mean?”

  “It means that you and I are not what we seem. I’m obviously not a war pig.” Sable’s lip curled. “You are not an orphan.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m not saying anything more,” Sable said. “If you want to know the truth then you can stand on the stone and see for yourself.”

  “How does that work exactly?”

  “This mist blocks us from our bad memories, right?”

  “Yeah, and?”

  “The boulder is the only place completely free of the mist. Mary cannot control us while upon it, the future leader of our world has no jurisidiction and it is our very existence. Should that boulder be destroyed—none of us would exist.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You will.” Sable nodded absently. “Yes, you’ll figure it out and when you do you’ll be able to free yourself from the rules Jon Landers sets for you.”

  “What rules?”

  “Go check,” Sable dared him. “If you really want to know, the answers are within your subconscience.”

  “I could just pick fruit in the orange goo if I want to remember.”

  Sable sat. “Yes, you could. That’s a strange courtesy of Mary’s enemy, and mine as well, I suppose.”

  “Does Mary know of the core’s existence?”

  Sable frowned. “Yes, what do you think she was looking for? Had she not been trapped, you and I wouldn’t exist. Mary wanted to rip the core from under us. That way, she wouldn’t have to kill us one by one. War is a tiring sport. And she loses interest in things quickly.”

  Jerry wouldn’t look upon the stone. Not because it was the core of his existence or because his world survived off the resourses of another realm, not because Sable told him to, but because he already knew what obligation he was under.

  “Sable,” Jerry began, “Thank you for your concern, but I already know what my purpose is. It is to—”

  THE OLD WATERFALL

  Teri and Lolani landed outside Lorcan’s lair. Had the muddler shrunk? It didn’t matter. The raven princess raced down the halls dragging the licorice rope. They needed to hurry.

  Tahmi and Diane stood at the edge of the bridge. Fire exploded, burning the bricks once more. “It’s a mirage,” Tahmi said. “See?” She pointed and her finger went through the flames. “If you believe you’re going to burn it will scald you, but if you don’t let it get to you then everything will be okay.”

  Diane shook her head. “Emotions can change quickly.”

  “Yes,” Tahmi agreed. “Which is why Teri will be in charge of the rope.”

  “What will I do?”

  “You’ll hold it with your back turned. I don’t want your uncontrolled feelings to send me to my death.”

  Diane stomped her feet. “Why do you think so little of me? Teri and I are the same.”

  “The longer we argue the less likely we’ll be able to save Jerry. Go, Tahmi, right now.” Teri pushed her sister in the back. “Here, wrap this around your waist and do not take it off, no matter what.”

  Tahmi stood at the edge of the bridge. She pictured Jerry crossing the rope bridge on their first day. They were on their way to the Muddy Palace Realm, and the boards underneath him disappeared. Jerry still made it across. She thought of the aircaves, how they were invisible to the untrained eyes. If she kept her cool and did not let the mirages trick her then maybe she’d find her way to Jerry. Getting there is easy, she thought, It’s the coming back that’ll be tricky.

  Tahmi stepped onto the bricks. Fire burst around her. She felt a rush of heat. Her fingers squeezed the harness tight. Would she be able to do this?

  “Here goes nothing,” Tahmi mumbled.

  Teri trembled. She watched fire emcompass her little sister. The rope and her sister were gone. She glanced at her hands. Licorice stains and shredded rope strands lay in her palms. She hoped Tahmi knew what she was doing. Teri gripped the shards, closed her eyes and waited.

  ***

  Tahmi dropped. Her hair flew around her and smacked her in the face. She stretched her arms out, picturing stone walls. Her fingers grazed rocks. She spread her legs, jamming her toes into stone. She bit her lip and breathed deeply. Wow, that hurt.

  Mist clouded her vision. Now that she’d stopped herself from falling, she needed to train her eyes. Gray rocks surrounded her. She refused to look at what her hands and feet clutched. Instead, Tahmi glanced up. There was a stone inches from her head. She slid down further and looked up once more. The stone followed. Was it another mirage? Tahmi pulled herself up, banging her head on the stone.

  “No,” she stammered. “I’m missing something.”

  She let herself fall.

  Her eyes opened and she stood in the center of a human village. People and war pigs sat at tables peacefully playing cards or eating meals. Tahmi searched for an opening. How was it possible for her to be surrounded by rocks? “Excuse me.” Tahmi tapped a man on the shoulder. “Have you seen—”

  The man ignored her. He brushed past and sat with a war pig. “Let’s start a new game, shall we?” Tahmi bit her lip. Where was she?

  A pair of blue sneakers lay in the grass. She raced towards them. Those were the same shoes she’d lost on her first day. Tahmi tied the laces together and tossed them over her shoulder. If her sneakers were here in the mistlands, then that meant she was directly under the wooden plank bridge. This was the emptiness. She was in the mist or center of the world. Okay, what does it all mean?

  “Jerry?” Tahmi stepped forward. What was he doing with a war pig? “Jerry!”

  Sable grunted. “My enemy arrives.”

  “What?” Jerry questioned. His eyes widened. “Tahmi! What are you doing here?” She ran, crashing into him. He fell backwards and she squeezed his ribcage. “I can’t breathe.”

  “You’re alive!”

  “What are you doing here? Now, we’re both trapped.”

  Tahmi shoved him. “That’s all you got to say? I risked my life trying to find you.”

  “Well, you should’ve gone to the castle like you were told. You knew this could happen—look at Teri.”

  “She’s alive!”

  “What?” Jerry’s eyes watered. “Stop playing.”

  “No really.” Tahmi lay flat against him. “I can hear your heart, Jerry. Do you have any idea what it feels like to think you lost someone you—”

  “Enough!” Sable stood. “Do you know what a mess you’ve caused?”

  Tahmi looked. The war pig seemed sad. “What did I do to you?”

  “Look at me!”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Sable paced. “What about the garden in the goo?”

  “What garden in the goo? There’s only fruit buried deep in that orange guck. Trusty says Mary destroyed the old garden.”

  “You remember nothing.”

  “I remember you.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah, you’re the war pig on the golden bridge that attacked Trusty. Why would you do that? He never hurt anyone.”

  Sable rubbed her temples. Her head spun. The girl doesn’t even know. “Yes, I was wrong.”

  “Look, whatever I did to make you guys want to kill me I’m sorry, okay? I just want to find a way out of here and then I wanna—”

  “What’s wrong, Tahmi?”

  “I don’t remember what I’m supposed to do next.”

  Jerry knew. Go back to Earth. “You’ve got to see your mother.”

  “Right, head to the Silver Castle. Thanks
, Jerry.”

  “What’s your plan?”

  “See this rope?”

  “Yeah?”

  “We follow it back.”

  “Sounds reasonable.” Jerry shrugged. “Let’s try it.”

  “This whole place is a mirage,” Tahmi explained. “Sable, are you coming?”

  “You want me to escape with you?”

  “Why not? I’d tell the others, but they don’t seem too eager to leave. C’mon, let’s go.”

  Sable followed.

  The rope did not lead them in the direction Tahmi first came. Instead, they followed the rope for nearly a mile towards a cave. The roof was one big crater and the ground was filled with mist.

  “So, everything is really the opposite,” Tahmi muttered.

  “What?” Jerry touched the rope making certain it was real. “Why would the rope lead us in the wrong direction?”

  “It didn’t. Things are not what they seem.”

  Someone coughed. “No, things are not what they seem.”

  “Who said that?”

  “Your enemy.”

  Tahmi searched the cave. A low flicker of light emenated behind a boulder; Quella lay curled up. Her antanae broken and her wings ripped. “Oh, Quella,” Tahmi covered her mouth. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I deserved everything I got.”

  “No, Quella, I don’t believe that.”

  “Let me die in peace, okay?”

  Tahmi knelt, “Come here, Quella. I bet Teri has something that can repair your scars. She comes in pretty handy—for an older sister.”

  “Please just go away. I’m hideous now.”

  “You’re still beautiful to me.”

  “I thought I was a monster.”

  “Well, you’re that, too.” Tahmi grinned, “Let’s go butt-zilla.” She cradled the sparkler close to her chest. “Your children miss you.”

  “They’ll never forgive me for what I made them do.”

  “Yes, they will.”

  Sable watched. Her eyes moistened. Maybe she’d misunderstood Tahmi. Maybe she wasn’t another Mary. She shook away her doubt. Hadn’t Mary been good once, too?

  “Tahmi,” Quella said. “Your rope leads us into the mist.”